NORTHAMPTON — A few minutes passed after the Amherst Regional boys ultimate team beat Lexington in the State Tournament finals at the rainy Oxbow Marina fields, Sunday afternoon
There was a brief celebration to take pictures and reflect on the Hurricanes’ perfect season (28-0), 15-6 win over Lexington and third straight state title.
“I am so proud of them,” Amherst coach Joe Costello said. “They have been resilient and gritty all season. We weren’t as dominant in the scoring column, but we won all of our games. I told them to look around because this is what an undefeated team looks like.”
Suddenly, the team remembered that the Amherst girls were playing Lexington in the state finals at another field across the way.
The rain- and sweat-soaked boys sprinted to the girls field, where they found out the Hurricanes lost to Lexington, 15-8, to finish second.
“The programs are so connected,” Amherst’s James Cairn said. “There is a large bond between us. We interact with them a lot. We go to them and they go to us.”
The two teams congratulated each other, and more celebrating ensued.
For the boys, it was their 16th state championship, according to Costello. Amherst lost 15 seniors last season, but from the beginning this particular group was brimming with confidence.
“The expectation, losing 15 seniors, was that it would be a rebuilding year for the Hurricanes,” Luke Sedor Protti said. “I read that somewhere. From the first practice I knew we were a really strong team. We have a lot of fun together. Shout-out to everyone, it was a great season. We weren’t surprised.”
Peter Treyz caught the game-winner for Amherst. There was a steady rain for most of the game, but it had tapered off by the time Treyz came down with the final score.
“I remember starting to play ultimate,” Treyz said. “I wasn’t sure what to make of the sport. When I got to the high school I started meeting players and coaches that I really admired. I wanted to be that kind of player one day. I don’t see the culture of this program going away any time soon.”
Amherst will graduate eight seniors this season.
“They had a hard task knowing they had such a smaller class,” Costello said. “They rose to that challenge.”
The Amherst girls lost last season to Lexington in the state semifinals, before its second-place finish this year.
“This year it’s been a focus on building a team identity,” Amherst coach Hannah Baranes said. “Just learning to trust your teammates. We are a young team.”
All first- and second-place teams received commemorative discs at the Tournament Central tent.
The Hurricanes beat Northampton in the girls semifinals, 8-6, to reach the finals against Lexington.
The Blue Devils finished fourth after a 13-5 loss to Four Rivers in which Northampton cleared the bench.
The Northampton boys lost in the quarterfinals to Masconomet and ended up placing eighth overall.
The PVPA girls team was 10th overall after a 13-2 loss to Sharon High School.
